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Boyle: Can a despicable human being find redemption?

Among all the other grieving, heartbroken people sitting through the gut-wrenching plea hearing of Robert Jason Owens last week was a mother who's endured more grief than any human should have to bear.

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Boyle: Can a despicable human being find redemption?

Brief statements from the DA Todd Williams and the defense team, along with the apology Owens said to the victims' families Thursday.

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Robert Jason Owens, 37, is escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs after Judge Mark Powell approved the plea deal to send Owens to prison for at least 59.5 years without parole April 27 in Buncombe County Superior Court.(Photo: Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com)Buy Photo

Among all the other grieving, heartbroken people sitting through the gut-wrenching plea hearing of Robert Jason Owens last week was a mother who's endured more grief than any human should have to bear.

Denise Vlahakis, the mother of Zebb Quinn, who disappeared in 2000, has waited nearly two decades for some peace of mind.

Jason Owens holds the key to that closure, if you can call it that, and he likely will provide – or already has provided – information that may help with locating Zebb's remains, or at least letting the world, and his mother, know what happened to her 18-year-old son.

Sitting in the courtroom Thursday morning, Owens, 37, sat stone-faced while a string of family members of J.T. Codd and his pregnant wife, Cristie Schoen Codd, spoke about the horror their lives became back in March 2015. First, their loved ones went missing, not responding to calls or texts — or in Cristie's case responding with odd messages that turned out to have come from Owens.

Then they found out about the gruesome demise of the couple, one of the grisliest cases in Buncombe County history.

The family extolled their lost brother, son, daughter, sister. They described truly wonderful, trusting people who gave of themselves and made the world a better place.

Undoubtedly, Vlahakis, sitting in the back of the courtroom, felt their anguish.

Relatives said J.T. Codd, 45, voluntarily lived as a homeless person for a year so he could fully understand what that life was like, so he could empathize with a person who hadn't had a hot shower or decent meals in days. His brothers and sisters painted a picture of a fearless, fun-loving, can-do man who always put others first, who made them feel safe, who gave the world a lot more than he took.

Cristie's father, William Schoen, a 30-year Air Force veteran, gave a brief but particularly gut-wrenching address about his daughter, 38 at the time of her death, noting that his wife could not attend because she is still unable to process what Owens did to her family.

When someone kills your daughter and son-in-law, dismembers them and burns them in a wood stove, how could you ever accept that as something that will ever make sense?

"This man needs to be taken out of society," Schoen said. "He needs to be contained so this doesn't happen to any other families."

Thursday's plea agreement did that. District Attorney Todd Williams, with the family's blessing, and Owens' attorneys, Victoria Jayne and Sean Devereux, arrived at a deal that removes Owens from society.

Owens pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder for killing the Codds and their unborn child, and to two counts of dismembering their bodies with a saw. For that, he will spend a minimum of 59.5 years in prison, meaning he can't get out until he's 96.

As DA Williams said, it's "tantamount to a sentence of death in prison for Jason Owens."

Owens did take responsibility for the Codds' deaths, and he apologized to their families Thursday.

“To the families of J.T. and Cristie and their friends, I want you to know that I am sincerely sorry for the loss of your loved ones and the pain and suffering it’s caused you,” he said, facing them. “I’m grateful for you for the mercy you have left with this court to show me. I am truly sorry.”

It's always interesting to me how guilty murderers use such passive language – "the loss of your loved ones ..." You won't hear them say, "I'm sorry I ran over J.T. and Cristie in my pickup, then backed up over them to make sure they were dead."

Testimony read by Assistant DA Rodney Hasty showed that's what Owens told investigators he did. He claimed it was all an accident, that he panicked once he hit them because as a habitual DUI felon he shouldn't have been driving and would've been in big trouble for that.

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Robert Jason Owens avoided the death penalty after pleading guilty to killing the Codd family.

And so it would follow that he had to back over them, then cut up the bodies to destroy the evidence.

Really, who thinks like that?

While Owens' attorneys stressed that he took responsibility for his actions, they also acknowledged the horror of the dismemberments.

When I asked Jayne why they did not want to go to trial, she said: "I think you can tell if you were in the courtroom today. We have to be realistic about just the horror – what happened to the bodies after they were dead."

Devereux noted that Owens displayed "a certain level of negligence or reckless behavior that would be manslaughter," and he would've faced enough charges to result in a similarly long sentence. Attorneys have to zealously advocate for their client, and Devereux pointed out that no evidence contradicts Owens' version of events pointing to an accident.

Of course, I'll note that Owens was in control of the crime scene for 72 hours after the killings, and the other two witnesses were incinerated, so it's hard to have another version of events.

Owens version contrasts with a much more plausible theory laid out in a 2015 indictment that suggested Owens attempted a robbery, utilizing a 10-inch long kitchen knife "and/or a motor vehicle, and/or a firearm."

In court and after the proceedings, the defense attorneys also detailed Owens troubled younger life — how he was born to drug-addicted mother, then raised for many years by a grandmother who beat him regularly. Also, they described how Owens was "traumatized" by the Quinn disappearance and becoming a suspect in that case, how he suffered from PTSD and became fearful of police.

In January 2010, Denise Vlahakis talks about her son Zebb Quinn, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in January 2000. Quinn was 18 at the time.(Photo: Citizen-Times)

I'll note he became a suspect because he was the last person seen alive with Quinn, who was 18 at the time of his disappearance.

I asked Jayne about the Quinn case after the plea.

“He has given a very detailed statement regarding that matter,” Jayne said of Owens. “In our opinion he is not at all responsible for the death of Zebb Quinn.”

I hope that's true. I hope that Owens did not just finally cough up some information that could give Denise Vlahakis some closure because he was in jail, his life on the line.

When the families of the victims were speaking to the court, one of Cristie Schoen's brothers turned and directly addressed Owens. Twice he called him an epithet, suggesting Owens was human excrement.

It was raw and ugly and honest, and I totally understood what he meant.

We all carry good and bad within us, and lord knows Owens has a lot of bad.

But I hope Owens is not all bad, not human excrement. I hope proves that brother wrong by totally coming clean in the Quinn case, by allowing Vlahakis, her husband and her daughter, also in court with her, to know what happened to Zebb.

That may redeem an otherwise wasted life just a little, and give Quinn's devastated family some painfully belated peace.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 828-232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com.

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Double-murder suspect Robert Jason Owens speaks to the bailiff during his first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Double-murder suspect Robert Jason Owens stands during his first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Double-murder suspect Robert Jason Owens waits during his first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Double-murder suspect Robert Jason Owens, right, listens during first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Scott Owens, brother of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens, speaks to media after Jason Owens' first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Scott Owens said he didn't believe his brother could commit such a crime, adding that if he did, there must be some explanation for it. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Carrie Smith, sister-in-law of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens, speaks to media after Owens' first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Smith said she doesn't believe Owens committed the crime and said she was going to stand behind him fully. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Scott Owens, brother of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens, speaks to media after Jason Owens' first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Scott Owens said he didn't believe his brother could commit such a crime, adding that if he did, there must be some explanation for it. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Carrie Smith, sister-in-law of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens, speaks to media after Owens' first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Smith said she doesn't believe Owens committed the crime and said she was going to stand behind him fully. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Double-murder suspect Robert Jason Owens stands during his first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Double-murder suspect Robert Jason Owens speaks to attorneys during his first appearance on new charges in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday, April 7, 2015. A grand jury handed out new indictments including robbery with a dangerous weapon and dismembering human remains late Monday to Owens, who has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Investigators, acting on search warrants, began digging for clues on the property of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens off Owens Cove Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Investigators, acting on search warrants, began digging for clues on the property of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens off Owens Cove Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Investigators, acting on search warrants, began digging for clues on the property of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens off Owens Cove Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Investigators, acting on search warrants, began digging for clues on the property of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens off Owens Cove Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Investigators, acting on search warrants, began digging for clues on the property of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens off Owens Cove Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Investigators, acting on search warrants, began digging for clues on the property of murder suspect Robert Jason Owens off Owens Cove Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Flowers were left at the home of Joseph and Cristie Codd Friday morning off Hookers Gap Road. The two lived about a mile away from their accused killer, Robert Jason Owens. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Buncombe County sheriff's deputies follow as a tow truck takes away the truck of Joseph "J.T." Codd, 45, and his wife, Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, from their home in Leicester Tuesday. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Buncombe County sheriff's deputies investigate the home of charged murder suspect Robert Owens in Leicester. Owens is charged with the murder of Joseph "J.T." Codd, 45, and his wife, Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, and their unborn baby. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Buncombe County sheriff's deputies investigate the home of charged murder suspect Robert Owens in Leicester. Owens is charged with the murder of Joseph "J.T." Codd, 45, and his wife, Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, and their unborn baby. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Buncombe County sheriff's deputies investigate the home of charged murder suspect Robert Owens in Leicester. Owens is charged with the murder of Joseph "J.T." Codd, 45, and his wife, Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, and their unborn baby. Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com

Defendant Jason Owens, 34, appears in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday alongside a member of the public defenders' office. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com, William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Defendant Jason Owens, 34, appears in Buncombe County District Court Tuesday alongside a member of the public defenders' office. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com, William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams speaks to the media following the court appearance of Robert Jason Owens, 34, who faces two counts of first-degree murder and murder of an unborn child, Tuesday at the Buncombe County Courthouse. William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com, William Woody / wwoody@citizen-times.com

Joseph "J.T." Codd and his wife, Cristie Schoen Codd, resided at 87 Hookers Gap Road in Leicester. Robert Jason Owens was charged in their deaths and the death of an unborn child. Sabian Warren/swarren@citizen-times.com

In this 2005 file photo, Asheville police officer Josh Biddix, left, portrays 18-year-old Zebb Quinn, who disappeared 15 years ago, meeting with Jason Owens, played by officer Jason Summey, where they met at Walmart on U.S. 25. The detectives hoped the reenactment would spur new leads in the case. Filming is Tim Jennings of Asheville's Public Information Office. Citizen-Times file photo